How should tubal infertility be treated?

  The fallopian tubes are a pair of long, flared, curved tubes, one on each side, about 8 to 15 cm long. The important role of the fallopian tubes is to transport sperm, to pick up eggs and to carry the eggs discharged from the ovaries or fertilized fertilized eggs to the uterus once a month on a cyclic basis. The fertilized egg is transported to the endometrium for implantation by a combination of peristaltic action of the fallopian tubes and the oscillation of cilia growing on the endothelium of the fallopian tubes.  The fallopian tube can be divided into four parts according to its morphology: (1) the interstitial part, also called the uterine part, is the part that passes into the wall of the uterus and is narrow and short. The isthmus: the outer part of the interstitial part, with a narrower lumen, about 3-6 cm long. ③ the abdomen: the outer part of the isthmus, with a wider lumen, about 5-8 cm long. ④ the funnel part, also called the umbrella part: the end of the fallopian tube, opening in the abdominal cavity, with a funnel-shaped free end and many whisker-like tissues, which has the function of “egg collection”.  Insufficient or dysfunctional fallopian tubes are the main cause of female infertility. The main cause of tubal failure or dysfunction is inflammation of the fallopian tubes. Severe inflammation of the fallopian tubes can cause complete blockage of the fallopian tubes, while some inflammation does not cause blockage of the fallopian tube lumen, but the inflammation damages the endometrium and affects the cilia movement of the endometrial cells. Tubal inflammation, especially the formation of inflammatory adhesions around the fallopian tube umbilicus or ovaries, prevents the fallopian tube umbilicus from drawing the discharged egg cells into the fallopian tube to meet the sperm. Patients who have also suffered from septic appendicitis, tuberculous peritonitis, or endometriosis may also suffer from tubal infertility. The above diseases can also cause tubal incompetence without obvious symptoms, because the chronic onset of the disease is mild and the symptoms are not obvious, so it is often overlooked. The tubal incompetence caused by many of the above causes, or incompetence can affect the union of sperm and egg and lead to infertility. According to statistics, infertility due to fallopian tubes accounts for about 40% of the causes of infertility. Therefore, it is very important and essential to check the patency of the fallopian tubes in infertility patients.  Transx-ray hysterosalpingography is an imaging test. It is an imaging test that injects contrast into the uterine cavity through a catheter and then flows through the uterine cavity to the fallopian tubes, while using an X-ray diagnostic device to perform X-ray fluoroscopy and film taking to find out whether the fallopian tubes are patent, the site of obstruction and the morphology of the uterine cavity based on the contrast image in the fallopian tubes and pelvis. It can not only show the entire patency of the fallopian tubes, but also clearly show the location and nature of the blockage, which plays a definitive role in guiding the treatment of fallopian tube diseases. It is the most commonly used test to find out whether the fallopian tubes are open, the degree of openness and the specific site of blockage.  Because of its simple equipment, easy operation and low price, tubal lavage examination was commonly used before the 1980s. However, it cannot determine the site of tubal obstruction and has the potential to aggravate hydrosalpinx. Because this method is unable to understand the patency of the fallopian tubes under direct vision, it can only be used to analyze the patency of the tubes based only on the feeling of the operating doctor, which is often unreliable due to various factors, and some patients have undergone repeated hydropermeation in several hospitals, which can easily induce new infections and aggravate hydrocele. Therefore, tubal lavage must be performed under the guidance of a specialist, otherwise the risk of infection is easily caused. Our hospital performs transvaginal ultrasound tubal lavage with a higher accuracy rate compared to blind operation, and can detect tubal effusion that cannot be seen under blind vision, which is suitable for adjuvant treatment of short infertility requiring tubal examination, tubal patency, post-tubal recanalization or post-ostomy.  The gold standard for evaluating the fallopian tubes is the laparoscopic tubal passage test, which allows direct visualization of the uterine tubes ovaries and pelvic adhesions. However, because it is more expensive and more invasive than tubal imaging, it is generally not used for initial examination. Surgery is performed in patients with distal tubal obstruction combined with ovarian tumors or endometriosis infertility, suspected pelvic adhesions and patients with unexplained infertility. About 20% of patients can be detected through lesions that were not diagnosed before surgery.